The Raven Prince
by GreatTheWayIAm
Summary: Stevie Rae is a girl who has grown up in a small village the west, feeling like a bird in a cage. On her 16th birthday the depression over that causes her to leave even though not being allowed to. And that is how she first came to meet one of the villager's sworn enemys, a native boy who would change her life forever.
1. Depression

**Hey, here I am again. Since my little one-shot turned out to not have been half bad I decided to publish a story of more chapters now. **

**The story is basicly about an interracial love – therefore a forbidden one. Two young lovers have to come over the hatred between the white and the red man and their different cultures. Will that succeed? Or will these things tear them apart?**

**I hope you will like it.**

**Disclaimer: I'd be more than just happy if I owned House of Night. But I do not. I don't own the characters either... I wish I did but I do not. Rephaiiiim! Why can't you be mine? going slightly crazy over there ;3**

**~ Nessie**

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**Chapter One – Depression**

The morning was clouded but hot as always. Opening the curtains of her window she sighed slightly. Her blond curls bounced as Stevie Rae placed her elbows on the window-still and her head in her hands. Depressed she looked out. Out at the big, massive wooden stakes witch separated her from the freedom she was longing for so badly.

Stevie Rae hurried and got dressed to see her father and her brothers one more time before they would leave the prison of village they all called their home.

"Happy Birthday, Stevie Rae!", her whole family shouted as she stepped into the kitchen.

_Oh yeah, right. It's my birthday,_ she thought. She actually had forgotten completely about that.

"Oh Stevie Rae, my baby girl! You've turned 16 today! I can't believe you're already that old! Where did the time go?"

"Calm down, mama!", Stevie Rae laughed. Her mama could really overdo it sometimes. But her mama wasn't all family she had...

"It's always the same, isn't it?"

"True, true, the same thing every year. And that four times!"

"Come on, guys! It's not that bad."

"... Shut up, Justin."

"Yeah, shut up."

"Oh, happy birthday Stevie Rae." _You can't be serious,_she thought. Willy, Justin and Roy. Her dear older brothers were as considerate as always. She loved her older brothers- that wasn't it! It was more like... she envied them. Being born and grown up in the west Stevie Rae hated her fate. She lived in a very dangerous area. The villagers needed water to drink and to have their plants growing so they built their home on a plane right next to the woods and the Silvercross-Stream. The big disadvantage and Stevie Rae's greatest dismay in life where their neighbors. Somewhere a little up the stream, behind the forest lived the Cherokee. The natives. Hostile people that would kill a white instantly if they met one in the woods. Since both lived on the same territory the village's men and the native hunters had to compete for the food. The natives hated the villagers for takingtheir  food from them. It's said that the Cherokee wanted the others to move. They refused...

And that was Stevie Rae's big problem. With these hostile people and the beasts that lived in the woods it was pretty dangerous to leave the village so only the men where allowed. The women had to stay inside, washing, cleaning, cooking and raising the children. To the blond girl that was torture. She wanted to be free! See the woods from closer than just her bedroom window. She wanted to escape from this routine her life had fallen into...

Her father and her brothers had already left this hell, and since Stevie Rae hadn't got anything better to do she started walking around outside – the outside inside this cage. Looking up to the sky she noticed that it had cleared. It was around midday and now the sun shone down at the village, sending down a heat that anyone who had not grown up there wouldn't be able to survive it. Well, at least not more than half an hour. The heat lasted heavy upon Stevie Rae's shoulders. She decided to visit Zoey. Her life really was a living hell, but with her bff Z even hell couldn't be so bad.

She guessed that spending the rest of the so called 'most important day of her year' with Z could even get her out of her depression. It was the worst one she's ever had but if it was Z she was sure she could make it. What Stevie Rae didn't know back than: today's depression would change her life forever.

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**So, what do you think? Good? Bad? Should I continue? Please review~**


	2. FALLING Desperate

**Okay, here's the second chapter of _The Raven Prince_**

**Thanks for the review SmilesSaveLives. I'm so incredibly grateful, I was jumping all around my room, you wouldn't believe it. I reeeeeeeeeaaaaaally hope you will keep reading my story, and of course I would also love everyone else to read it.**

**This chapter is still a little dark, but it'll get better the next chapter. I promise! And guess who she'll meet then. =3**

**Disclaimer:**

**Nessie: Yay! Another chapter!**

**Stevie Rae: I don't like it.**

**Nessie: Oh shush! You have no idea what you're talking about! We need the chapter to understand how you will get to meet Rephaim!**

**Stevie Rae: ...I'm so glad you don't own us, House of Night or anything.**

**Nessie: How can you say cruel things like that?! * cries ***

**Stevie Rae: It's true anyways.**

**~ Nessie**

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**Chapter Two – Falling Desperate**

Stevie Rae walked threw the little village and arrived at Zoey's place around 3 minutes later. Little really meant little here. Standing in front of the door she knocked.

"Oh, Stevie Rae, child!", Zoey's grandma, Sylvia Redbird, opened.

"Hey grandma.", the young girl smiled. "I came to see Z. Is she around?"

"Yes, she sure is, sweetie. She's up in her room."

"Okay. Thanks, grandma."

"Don't mind. And, happy birthday, by the way."

"Thanx.", she muttered quickly.

The small girl hurried and climbed up the stairs. Up on the second floor she popped her head in her best friend's room. "Hi, Z!", the blond grinned. "Stevie Rae!" The brunette's eyes lit up the very moment she saw her favorite birthday-girl.

"Happy 16th birthday!" Then her happiness stopped as she saw her friend's gloomy face. "Oh girl, what's wrong?"

And so Stevie Rae`s mood sank further seeing the other girl's worried face. She didn't mean to worry Z. Just because she was depressed it didn't mean she wanted to pull Zoey's mood down as well. Yet she had. If she now apologized, she knew, she'd never get the chance to talk to Z about her problems. And she really needed to talk to someone. So she didn't. Knowing she would do wrong she decided not to apologize. She could still do that later. Now Zoey would have to lend her an ear.

"Oh Z, I totally hate this!"

"Hate? What? Huh? What do you mean, Stevie Rae?", Zoey asked, trying to read her friend's face.

"Well, I've turned 16 today and I'm still here! Ya know? I do so wanna get out of this boring old village! I want freedom! I wanna know how a tree looks like! From up close I mean. I only saw them from windows before! I need... I just neeeeeeeeeeeeeeed to get outside,okay."

"..." Stevie Rae hadn't meant to raise her voice so much. She was just so upset and all she could do now was hoping for her BFF to understand her. "You can't go outside, Stevie Rae. It's dangerous out there. There are beasts in the woods, even worse natives!" So Zoey didn't understand her. It was not like she hadn't expected it. She knew it was time to drop the topic but she wouldn't. Knowing it wouldn't change anything on Z's point she insisted going on.

"Zoey, my brothers have already been in the woods for multiple times now and none of them has ever seen even one native!"

"I don't know what to say. It seems you won't let me change your mind so I'm afraid I can't help you." To many people Z would have looked simply annoyed- not to Stevie Rae. She might have been upset but not blind. Of course she had noticed her best friend gazing at her watch every two seconds. "What's on?", she asked really interested now. The other girl looked like she was feeling guilty or something.

"I have a date." Zoey admitted with a lowered head. "I knew it was your birthday and yet I ….."

"Don't worry 'bout it, Z. I get that. Only hope it's someone better than that Erik- guy."

"Urgh. Yeah, definitely. But let's face it: There isn't a single guy worse around this village." Both laughed. Stevie Rae was happy for Zoey. She had really needed a date after the break up with that Erik-jerk. Then she'd just have to spend her birthday alone. No prob. She usually was alone. She was used to it.

Out on the street, in front of Zoey's house the two girls hugged each other. "So, what're you gonna do now?" Zoey asked Stevie Rae with a hint of worry in her voice. "Don't know. Wandering around I guess?" The brunette didn't seem to be satisfied with the reply. She watched her friend suspecting. After a few moments she sighed.

"Okay then, see you later."

"Yup.", Stevie Rae smiled and with her blond curls dancing at the movement she added: "And I wanna hear how that date of yours will have turned out." With this Zoey went away, waving her hand for goodbye.

Stevie Rae waved back. Her thoughts were spinning in her head. She wasn't sure of what to do next. Yet there was some kind of urge coming up to her. She had the sudden urge to move and so she fallowed it.

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**So. That was the second chapter. I hope you liked it. I also hope you don't think Stevie Rae is some kind of gloomy person in my story. She's just not had a very good life until now- but don't worry. In the next chapter she will meet the person that'll change that fact ;333333 **

**~ Please review**


	3. When Danger Comes In Handy

**Heeeey, here's the 3rd chapter of _The Raven Prince_ and this time Stevie Rae will meet Rephaim. **

**Good news: I finally got Revealed. I've bought it last Thursday and I'll start reading it today. =D * does totally look forward to it***

**Disclaimer: I don't own House of Night.**

**~ Nessie**

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**Chapter Three – When Danger Comes In Handy**

Stevie Rae fallowed the main street. Up in the sky the clouds had disappeared so that now the sun shone hot down at her head. The dirtways, as she liked to call them, where so dry today, that the passing carriage raised the dirt as dust into the air. The blond girl coughed. Now she was all dirty. _Great, _she thought. But then, eventually, she realized where the carriage had come from. Outside.

Temptation.

Stevie Rae was tempted. There she stood, in front of the huge gate. Exiting but forbidden, her way to freedom. So close and yet so far away. She furtively gazed behind her. No one on the streets. No one to stop her. She knew she should better not do that but in the heat of the moment she didn't care.

Step by step, farther and farther. She did it.

She did it! The first time in her entire life Stevie Rae looked at the gate from the outside. Her eyes widened. Excitement filled her. It was simply amazing- no thrilling. Then an idea crossed her mind. The forest. Right in front of her: trees. She could finally see them from up close!

She ran, panting and laughing, like she was flying. Stevie Rae had never felt so alive before. She had finally gotten into touch with nature, with her freedom.

As soon as she approached the first trees she stood next to an impressively big one and touched it. It felt weird yet so true under her fingertips. And then she did something stupid: she hugged it. Stevie Rae had no clue why she did but hugging more or less this piece of wood made her giggling. However, the trees here weren't enough for the girl. She wanted to see the forest from inside as well.

Stevie Rae`s mind was now made up. She began walking deeper inside the forest and even though this was a completely new territory to the 16-years-old she wasn't scared the slightest. There were trees everywhere and it smelled so nice. _Nature smells good, it smells like freedom._ She giggled at that. But the deeper Stevie Rae went the darker the forest got. The before lit shades of brown and green were now dark and she couldn't see farther then the closest row of trees around her anymore.

Something rustled in the bushes, she heard a low growl. Stevie Rae jumped unable to scream. She stumbled over a root and fell. There still was this rustling in the bushes. It was moving. Stevie Rae's self-confidence faded away. Now she **was** scared. Now she was really scared. All she wanted was running away but she couldn't move. There. There was this rustle again, this time from behind her. She couldn't see it. She could barely even see the bushes' shape. It was to dark. Stevie Rae's hope vanished.

Then there was a rustle louder then all the ones before. Just in time Stevie Rae managed to turn towards it only to see- like in slow motion- how a giant black cat, a puma, jumped out of the bushes, teeth bare, ready to attack. Stevie Rae's breath stopped. This second, the last before her death, her mind raced. She saw her life before her eyes, she was thinking about everything yet nothing came to her mind.

Then: _zap. _In the middle of it's jump the beast's movement changed. It looked like some invisible force would throw the it away against the next tree where it kept lying. It took Stevie Rae around ten seconds to realize that she wasn't dead. Wide eyed she stared at the motionless beast and then she found out what was this invisible force that had just saved her life. An arrow.

Then she heard another sound behind her. She had already been prepared to scream but what she saw when she turned around was not the kind of danger she had expected. Having jumped down from a tree like from a hiding place there did not stand another puma, but a boy.

Not paying any sort of attention to her he passed her, approaching the puma, killed by the arrow. Stevie Rae was in a state of shock. _A Native!_ The fact that there was truly one of those wilds, a beast in human form, standing in front of her let fear come up inside of her again, until she saw what he was carrying in his hand. A bow.

That native boy had saved her life. This discovery made all the fear inside of her disappear. She took a closer look. He was loosing a rope he had worn around his body and tied the dead beast up. Then he looked the way he had come from. He made a weird sound, it sounded almost like a raven's call. The sound was so animalistic that Stevie Rae flinched. And then, out of nowhere, ravens where landing on all the trees in sight watching at the boy like they where waiting for orders. A horse came galloped like attracted by the call as well. It was so black that Stevie Rae only noticed it as a shadow in the dim light of the forest. It came to stand right in front of the native and with two quick movements he tied the beast onto his saddle. Then he finally turned to face her.

_Ohmygoodness! _She thought. _That guy is freakin hot!_ Stevie Rae blushed when he saw that super hot guy eye her. He didn't say a word, he was just looking. Stevie Rae blushed even harder. She must have looked like a tomato or something but when their eyes met Stevie Rae's heart- which was about to jump out of her chest at his sight- officially announced this day the best birthday ever, taking him her birthday present.

But then he broke the connection of their gazes. He turned his head away and with another quick movement he sat on his horse. He looked down at her once more and then he got his horse going, leaving her behind without another glimpse.

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**Soooo – that was Stevie Rae's and Rephaim's first encounter. What do you think? When in the beginning I wrote the scene with Stevie Rae hugging the tree my mind said something like: Wouldn't you like to hug Rephaim better? Oh well, as the author I can't just write what I want. To bad, hm? **

**This time again: I would really be happy to receive reviews. ;3**

**~ Nessie**


	4. Birthday About To End

**Hi, here I am again. The 4th chapter of _The Raven Prince._**

**Thanks for the reviews. What I wanted to say about that: I'd really really like to recive reviews. I didn't get any for another story of mine and I decided, that if I don't get at least one review for a chapter, I won't continue writing. So please review, okay? :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own House of Night.**

**~ Nessie**

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**Chapter Four – Birthday About To End**

So there she was, sitting on the cold ground, stunned, still staring the way the native boy left. _Don't freak out. Go home, go home, go home! Seriously, get going, girl!_, her mind tried to animate her. Very, very slowly Stevie Rae managed to get up. With her mind starting to clear again, she began recognizing her surroundings. Well, she tried to, at least. It had gotten really dark by now. Stevie Rae could barely even see her own nose. Still in a sort of trance she began making her way home, trying not to fall over every second root.

Arrived home Stevie Rae first had to face her family. They had been worried for her because she had been away the whole day. Even Zoey, who had come around after her date to spend the rest of her best friend's birthday together with her, had been worried. All this had shocked Stevie Rae. She hadn't really realized that she had been away all day – though it was dark outside. Climbing up the stairs to her room Stevie Rae wondered how she couldn't have. _Seriously, what's wrong with me? And with this freaky mood? That's silly! What is that and why?_

Stevie Rae hag gotten really upset about this mood of her's. She felt like empty, yet in tense. She threw herself on her bed and started to think. _What could have gotten me into such a creepy mood?_ Stevie Rae had closed her eyes to think. And like this she got her answer. _The native boy!_ All she saw before her closed eyes was him. Dark skin, pitch black hair with raven feathers braided into it, a muscular body and these beautiful dark eyes. How could he be so extremely hot? Wasn't there a limit to being hot? It seemed like there wasn't... For a brief second Stevie Rae envied the native girls, who actually could get a hot guy such as him. _No, no, no, no, no, no! What am I thinking here? He's the enemy!_, she tried to tell herself. Yet she couldn't help then to think: _But he saved my life. He didn't hurt me, he saved me!_

"Argh.", Stevie Rae made. What was she doing here? Lying on her bed and fawning over a native boy? Alone the sound of that... Stevie Rae blushed. That was so unfair! Why didn't the village have any hot boys. There were some with muscles, sure, but they looked so plain. Compared to the native boy they looked sick with this white skin color. Stevie Rae wanted to stop thinking about him. She wasn't allowed to. _Argh, for god's sake! I am a girl, okay? I am allowed to check out a hot guy, weather or not he's supposed to be the enemy! That's the law of nature!_ Honestly, Stevie Rae had no idea why she had brought nature into this. Maybe she just wanted to place the blame. Not that she was the type of girl who'd usually do things like that, but...

It was no use, was it? She would continue thinking about him, no matter what she did. She couldn't even tell Z. Her best friend would probably go ballistic when she'd hear Stevie Rae met a native and, above all, was fawning over him. Nah, she didn't think she wanted that. She let out a sigh, _why does everything in life have to be so complicated?_ Rolling around on her bed Stevie Rae took one more breath and then fell asleep.

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**Okay, this chapter was just to show Stevie Rae's feelings about Rephaim, that's why it was a little shorter. The next chapter will be the first from Rephaim's point of view. And it will be the chapter where things will finally get rolling. =3**

**Please review, kay?**

**~ Nessie**


	5. Silence Before The Storm

**Happy new year, everyone!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own House of Night- just like in all the chapters before...**

**~ Nessie**

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**Chapter Five – Silence Before The Storm**

The sun shone remorselessly hot down at the young native. He had been on a hunt, now he was returning to his tribe. Behind his horse, tied in a rope, he dragged the puma he shot. Lots of his people could get satiated by it, the boy thought, when suddenly a shadow appeared above him. Looking up to the sky he saw a huge black raven flying right above him before the sun.

"Gronk!"

"Yes.", the young native laughed. "I got food for my people. Just as I said, right?"

"Gronk!" The boy chuckled. "Of course you did."

"Gronk!"

"Are you sure that our bet didn't sound a little different?"

"Gronk!", it came back again and with that the animal flapped it's wings once more and disappeared from the young man's sight as fast as he had appeared. He let out a small laughter, ravens were such terrible liars. Still, he really was in an unusually good mood today, the native thought as he approached his home.

"Hello!"

"Good afternoon!"

"Welcome home!", the people from his tribe greeted him as he rode threw it. The puma behind him received a lot of attention as well. Many of the tribe's children had come out of their tents, gathered around the beast and fallowed the tribe's best hunter until just mentioned stopped. The young man got off his horse and untied his prey. He gave the little natives who watched him with big, curious eyes another warm encouraging smile and then made his way into a big tent.

In the tent the young man met two others, the wise man of the tribe who had also always been his teacher, and his father, the chief. Both men looked up as the younger entered.

"Rephaim.", the chief stated.

"My prince!", Samberil, the wise, greeted. Rephaim bowed his head slightly. "Father, Samberil."

Approving of the prince's greet the men wanted to go back to whatever they had been working on before Rephaim entered, but then their gaze found the beast the boy was carrying with him.

"A puma?", Kalona, asked.

"A puma, father.", the boy stated.

"Hahahahahaha, of course it is a puma! Would you two like to discuss some more obvious things? If you don't- I would like to ask a question.", the wise old man laughed.

"Please go ahead then, Samberil.", Rephaim nodded at the wise.

"Very well. Rephaim, child, you are the best hunter of our tribe, but the puma is a good hunter as well. One thing that you share that none of you would ever put themselves into a danger such as showing yourselves before the other. So my question is: Why would a puma ever be so incautious to show itself before you?"

"Maybe because it was more concentrated on it's prey then on possible other hunters?", the boy suggested.

"What prey could be interesting enough to draw so much of the puma's attention to itself?", Kalona asked.

"... More like- um- herself. Herself, father."

"What do you want to say with that?"

"I was actually rather surprised about that, too. This puma was hunting a human. A girl from the white men's village."

"...What you say can not be the truth, my son. The children and women of the village are not allowed to leave it- by their law!"

"I know, father, but I speak the truth." The chief eyed his son, just when he wanted to speak up Samberil shot him a meaningful glance and shook his head _no_. Rephaim didn't like this exchange of looks at all. It didn't ever mean something good.

"Rephaim,", his father said without looking at him, "Leave. We have to talk." The young man was slightly worried, yet he didn't even think about defying his father and so he turned around and left. Back, inside of the tent, the men had started to mumble silently. That wasn't good, because if there was one thing that Rephaim knew for sure, it was that silence would always be fallowed by a storm.

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**First chapter about Rephaim, what do you think? Very soon something really interesting will happen in Rephaim's life. ;)**

**Review please!**


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